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Saturday, November 2, 2013

Why Ray Emery Should've Been Suspended

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The Philadelphia Flyers are not having a good season. In fact, they are having a horrendous season. They are 2nd last in the league and nothing has gone right. Giroux and Voracek have gone ghost. They have a combined 10 points in 24 games, with a -11 rating. Mike Smith, yes the goaltender Mike Smith has the same amount of goals as these two combined.To make matters worse, Simmonds isn't having a great year either, and their goaltending has been less than spectacular, especially Emery. This season has been frustrating for Philadephia, to say the least. This was on full display last night when they went up against the Washington Capitals and got blown out, 7-0. Oh, and did I mention Ovechkin wasn't in the lineup? What happened next was not pretty.

A full out line brawl ensued with some pretty entertaining fights. Now, I like fighting in hockey as much as the next guy, but what Ray Emery did was completely unacceptable. He skated all the way down the ice and forcibly fought a guy who wanted nothing to do with him and then proceeded to beat the life out of him. It`s bad enough that Emery jumped Holtby, after Holtby declined the invitation. But, he then proceeded to pummel him even when Braden was A) off-balance and clearly not ready, B) Holtby still had his gloves on, C) Holtby was turned around the other way, and D) Braden was on his knees. I don't know what the referee was thinking while he watched this happen in front of his eyes. What reason did he have for not breaking this up? I'd love to hear his opinion on this incident. Anyways, it`s safe to say that Emery broke more than just a couple unwritten hockey rules here. You do not instigate like that, jump someone who`s unwilling to fight, or continue to punch a defenseless man that`s already on his knees. Gutless, that`s what it is. To make matters worse, the look in Emery`s eyes during the fight was terrifying. It seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing and enjoyed every last second of it. Thankfully, Holtby was not injured because the potential was certainly there. Braden certainly got the last laugh though, as his Capitals destroyed the Flyers 7-0, and he recorded a 30 save shutout. Emery, nonetheless, definitely needs to be suspended. Especially in a league that is so concerned with player safety. And all of this is coming from a former Ray Emery fan. Your move NHL.

The NHL has now ruled that they will not suspend Ray Emery because there is nothing they can suspend him for. According to the NHL rulebook, he did nothing wrong. Let's take a look.

Ray Emery certainly is an aggressor, at least according to the NHL rule book. He was given the right penalties during the game which is good, but what about further action? Let's take a look:

So, if Ray Emery does this twice more he'll be suspended for two games. Two lousy games. He could end a player's career by doing something like this again, but nothing will happen to him unless he does it a third time. That is absolutely ridiculous! Even if he does it a third time, all he'll get is two games. Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. Technically Emery is untouchable right now, but that doesn't mean he should be. The league needs to do something to change this gaping hole in their rulebook, and they need to do it fast, especially before someone gets seriously hurt.